


Chapter VI: Beast of Burden

by SallySS



Series: Love Trunk [7]
Category: Claymore
Genre: Bisexuality, Blood, Body Horror, Explicit Language, F/F, Gore, Homosexuality, Verbal Abuse, wlw
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2017-01-19
Updated: 2017-01-19
Packaged: 2018-09-18 12:38:02
Rating: Mature
Warnings: Graphic Depictions Of Violence
Chapters: 1
Words: 3,897
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/9385523
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/SallySS/pseuds/SallySS
Summary: Excerpts from the daily life of Rona, a new addition to the warriors known as Claymore, led by the mysterious Organization. Follow her through her struggles and triumphs as she fights to survive against the flesh craved yoma and awakened beings.-Rona reflects on her past and accepts that she needs to return to her fiancee, regardless of the consequences.





	

Rona took a moment to settle her stomach, taking deep breaths of the night air, quieting her mind to all her questions and fears. She could hear the buzz of the field insects, their sounds bringing a grounding realization to the forefront of her mind. Wiggling her toes in the grass, she could feel the bumpy, untrodden ground beneath her feet, the soil sunken in just slightly from the weight of her standing in one place. The air was absolutely still and the moon illuminated the clouds, giving them a picturesque silver hue along their edges. In the summer there were many nights just like the one she was experiencing now, and each night everything seemed to be in accordance as the world went quiet. Reminiscent of her youth, Rona was swept up in thought, remembering the summer nights of her childhood. 

 

She cleaned up from the barn and climbed into bed, getting a kiss on the head from her father before he retired to his own room for the night. Eager hands would wring the quilt as she anticipated the tell-tale snoring from down the hall. Once she heard the signal, she would throw her coat and boots on over her nightgown and clamor out her bedroom window. The cornfield was the place to be, and many of the kids in town came to play sports in the cool of night. It was Rona’s chance to be team captain and the name of the game was Flock n’ Pack, one team having to run to a designated point without getting caught by the opposing team. Rona was captain of the flock and had hand chosen all the fastest kids. She knew she could outrun any kids of the inferior opposing team, this victory was as good as gold. The “wolves” gave their best howl and the “sheep” took off in a sprint, their little legs trying to keep up with the rest of their bodies, their arms pumping as hard as they could. Rona had bolted out ahead of the group, her longer legs giving her a distinct advantage over her teammates who had yet to hit their growth spurt. She could feel the wind in her hair, the point getting closer and closer, her eyes fixated on the prize. Her victory would be majestic, and she would forever be picked first for teams due to her sheer speed and cunning. She glanced back and none even posed a threat to her lead, not even her own teammates could compete with her grace and swiftness. But that was the last thought Rona remembered before her ankle twisted and she fell. From what she was told, her head hit a rock and cracked her skull, knocking her unconscious. None of other children could wake her and they fled like spooked cockroaches back to their homes, tight lipped about what happened.    
  
It wasn’t until the next night that a hunting dog in a search party sniffed her out of the field and she was brought back home to her nerve wracked father to be bedridden for almost a month. When Rona finally saw the light of day again, the kids called her a ghost and would all run away when she came near, spreading rumors that she had actually died that night and was back for vengeance. Shunned by her peers, she looked to her father for company, and most of her leisure time was spent learning swordsmanship and hearing her father’s fanciful tales of the city guard. Rona’s mother visited seldom, usually to lecture her daughter on being unladylike and to demand money from Rona’s father; it wasn’t until later in life that it was revealed to Rona that her mother was an opioid addict. Eventually her mother stopped showing up, and Rona decided that it was probably for the best. 

  
Despite those few years, summer nights weren’t all bad. After she grew up, she remembered quite a few of them being spent with Adaira; out in the pasture where they had confessed their feelings for each other, stealing behind the outpost to kiss until their lips were red and sore, and that one night that Adaira “borrowed” a horse and they rode to the next town over to watch a traveling circus. They were wild teens, but thankfully their parents never really had a complaint (until they found out the two of them stole a horse); but for the most part the girls kept each other grounded and grew up together deeply in love.

 

Rona joined the city guard after graduating with honors from her tactical assault unit, and Adaira was given ownership of her parents bakery when they decided to retire, the two girls now living above the shop in a small one bedroom home. That time in her life was heaven for Rona; at night she would cuddle with Adaira for a little while before work and Adaira would go to bed, then at the end of her shift Rona came home to freshly baked goods and they would have breakfast together before opening the bakery. When serving hours were over they would have a light lunch and Rona would sleep while Adaira read or attempted some new craft. After cooking and eating supper together, usually with a few glasses of wine, it was cuddle time and the whole rotation started over again.    
  
However, when things are too good, the universe has a way of throwing a kink into the process. Rona wasn’t the one to see the body, but all the guard knew immediately when it was found. A gruesome sight, as it was recounted, and whispers of yoma were on everyone’s tongue. The rumors would die down after a stretch of time with no incident, but just when it seemed to have disappeared completely, another bloody reminder would ignite the gossip of the town. It went on for months and soon their economy suffered, merchants began avoiding their town and even some residents packed up and left in the middle of the night. The less Adaira worked in the bakery, the more time she spent worry for Rona, holding onto her tighter each night when Rona got up to go to work. When a tax finally went through the town to collect for the organization’s help, it stripped their savings to the bone. The yoma threat was quickly taken care of, but the town didn’t bounce back like they hoped. The rest was history, Rona now standing in her issue uniform, much different from the illustrious blue and gold colors of the guard she had once belonged to.   
  
Rona rubbed her face and head, mussing the short hair that never grew. She headed back inside the cave and got a good look at Stephanie’s surgical scar as Stella was tending to it, almost all the skin on her torso was red and sore, chapped and weeping the closer it got to center and the immediate area to the incision was swollen, strained against the stitches, and littered with a webbing of broken blood vessels. Granted, it wasn’t the worst thing Rona has seen, but it did give her a bit of a start. She didn’t want to say anything in fear of incurring Stephanie’s wrath and so she averted her gaze and sat with her fruit and ate quietly.   
  
Stella sighed, “It’s not getting any better, I don’t know what else to do for you other than to keep it clean.” She pulled a few rolls of bandages out of her pack to wrap it back up.   
  
Rona grabbed her pack and pulled it open, fishing out the container of skin balm she got from Adaira. “Um, this might help the pain. Otherwise I don’t know what you would do other than pour some moonshine on it.”   
  
Stephanie sat up some to look at Rona, completely perplexed, “How the hell would the moon help?”   
  
“It’s a grain alcohol, very strong, you pour it on cuts before you wrap them up if you can’t get to a doctor. Keeps them from puffing up and oozing.” Rona shrugged.   
  
Stella smeared the cream around the edges of her comrade’s incision, “We’d need a lot of moonshine for this wound. We’ll just lay you in a bathtub of it, let you pickle for a few days.” She chuckled.   
  
“I’d probably shrivel up and die. That’d make a headline, huh? Strongest silver eyed witch dies in a tub filled with alcohol, those ladies really know how to party.” Stephanie huffed a slight laugh, the most positive you’d seen her yet, but it was short lived and the smirk on her face fled as soon as it came. “I have no expectations of this wound healing. I’m not human anymore, doctors can’t help me, and the organization has told me they’ve done all they can; whether I believe them or not, that’s all the help i’m getting from them.”   
  
Rona tossed the scrap from her fruit in the fire, trying to think of a solution if there was one to be had. She certainly didn’t know anything about serious injury, just basic battlefield medicine, and that usually boiled down to slapping a tourniquet on a bleeding limb till you could get the injured party to a doctor. “Well, that last town we were in was pretty large, if you disguise yourself you might be able to peruse a library without cause for alarm. They might have a collection of medical books.”   
  
Stephanie rolled her eyes and let out an exasperated breath, “Yes, great idea Rona, I will get  _ right  _  on that.”   
  
Rona bit her cheek, what had she said to piss her off now?   
  
Stella gave her superior a bit of a glare, “Oh quit with the attitude, how would she know you can’t read? I’ll read the books for you. Be nice, she’s just trying to help.”    
  
That seemed to deter any further jabs from Stephanie as she looked off to the side, unwilling to say anything more.   
  
Stella shook her head slightly as she wrapped up the wound. “We’ll have to leave the area soon for another mission, but we can pop in and see what they have before we go. Any leads that may help are worth looking into.” She tucked the end of the bandage in on itself to secure it in place and took her place back besides the fire. “Rona, where will you be going from here?”    
  
“A city called Aalberad on the outskirts of Toulouse; it’s where all the farmland is located for the large cities like Rabona.”    
  
Stephanie lounged, relaxing in front of the fire “Oh yeah? You got a mission there or something?”   
  
Rona shrugged, “I guess you could say that. It’s where I live… or I guess where I  _ used _ to live.” She rubbed her neck, looking down at the floor, “I figure I need to face my reality eventually. Tell my fiance the truth; she deserves to know.”   
  
Stephanie shook her head, “I’m telling you, it’s better if you just let them live their life. Even if they do accept you for who you are, you’re just showing the organization your greatest weakness. Don’t put it past them to use your loved ones against you.”   
  
Stella flicked her superior in the ear. “Not everything people do is a harbinger of doom, Steph. I say go to her. To have someone in this world who loves you is rare, don’t let a fear of the unknown keep you from her.”   
  
Rona opened her mouth to respond, but Stephanie had to slip in a sly remark under her breath, “You just say that cause you still wish your husband loved you.”   
  
She had said it quiet enough it might have just slipped by unnoticed had they been normal humans, but the way Stella quietly got up made it very apparent she had heard it crystal clear. The tension in the room was not only palpable, it was almost suffocating as Stella made her way towards the exit. It looked like she just might leave without a word, but as she passed Stephanie she leant down slightly and grabbed a fistful of her superior’s hair, dragging her kicking and cussing behind her. Rona sat there, mouth agape, thinking she may have spoke too soon about Stella being the ‘nice one’. Rona clamored to her feet, scuttling out after the pair; she wasn’t sure just what she was going to do, but this might end poorly if she doesn’t intervene.    
  
Stephanie had weaseled her way free of Stella’s grip, the two of them at an impasse, facing each other poised to attack. Stella was completely flushed in anger, every muscle in her body tense with rage, “Don’t you  **_ever_ ** talk about my husband, you insufferable cunt! It’s bad enough I have to tolerate your constant bitching, and babysit you like you’re a fucking child to keep you from having temper tantrums that embarrass the whole organization, but if you think i’m going to allow you to talk about  _ my _ husband like that, you have another thing coming. I will tear open your stitches and watch you die slowly as you try to shove your guts back inside you!”   
  
“Damn Stella, I never knew you were such a fucking psycho! He cheated on you and left you, not really a model husband in my opinion. You don’t even know where he went!” Stephanie was shaking where she stood, and with good reason; if Stella so wished it, she could make Stephanie awaken, or otherwise control her as she pleased.    
  
“You don’t know him!” She cried from rapidly sharpening teeth and a voice strained from the ongoing transformation, tears welling in her slitted golden eyes. The number two stepped forward, making her superior step back even quicker to keep enough distance.   
  
“Stella, calm down or you’re going to lose control. Look I know he hurt you, but that’s not your fault, you were a good mother! He’s a piece of shit and you shouldn’t love him for treating you that way!” Stephanie brought her arms up to protect herself, almost certain that Stella would attack her for those comments.    
  
Rona’s heart was pounding in her chest, thinking she might witness a warrior awakening before her eyes, though most likely only for a brief moment before she was obliterated. She put one foot in front of the other, her hands completely numb as she walked towards Stella, her mind buzzing with alarms telling her to turn and run as fast as she could. She mentally pushed through the warnings, searching with her yoki to find Stella’s, hoping to sync with her and maybe tug her back to reason. With it not being suppressed, Rona could get a feel for just how massive the power at her disposal was, Stella’s yoki dwarfing her own like a mountainside to a marble. There was no way she could influence something so much larger than herself, she would have to take a very dangerous risk to try and snap her out of this fit.    
  
“May the goddesses bless our hard work and punish the wicked.” Her mouth was dry, the words a croak as she attempted to recite the prayer. 

 

“Guide us to forgive those who repent, and show us strength in the face of adversity.” Her skin bristled and her blood felt like fire as she drew near, the monster inside her reacting to the energy of the other. 

 

“Bring fortune to those who follow in your footsteps of compassion.” She tried to fight the churning in her guts, the itch under her flesh that yearned to be freed. 

 

“For the love of mankind is the richest gift of them all.” Rona’s prayer was now just a hushed whisper as she closed the gap between her and the warrior in the midst of a chaotic emotional breakdown. 

 

Rona took a deep breath and creeped one last step forward, wrapping her arms tightly around Stella, squeezing her eyes shut and tensing in the event that there was backlash.    
  
The embrace startled the warrior who had been completely focused on her traveling companion, and she lashed out with a clawed hand, digging into the soft flesh of Rona’s cheek and tearing through it like warm butter, casting her down into the ground. Once she realized what she had done, Stella gasped and took a moment to compose herself, suppressing her yoki and knelt down by Rona’s side. “Goddesses, Rona, I’m so sorry, I didn’t see you there!”   
  
Rona bit her lip from the sharp pain throbbing through her head, but she had to keep calm. Thoughts of a soft caress of her cheek, the smell of frankincense and fresh grain, a warm smile to greet her and suddenly her pain began to subside, the skin woven back together and mended with her yoki. “I’m ok, it was nothing. Are you alright Stella?”   
  
She nodded, so upset that she lashed out at the wrong person. “I’m fine, I’m fine. Rona I’m so sorry.” She helped the other warrior to their feet and cleaned the blood off her cheek. “You didn’t have to stand up for her.”   
  
Rona was shaking from the experience, eyes watering from the rush of adrenaline. “I didn't want you to lose control…” Her voice was much calmer than her demeanor.   
  
“O-Oh no, I was fine. I didn’t mean to worry you, I have amazing control over my yoki. I wasn’t in any danger.” She kept fussing over Rona’s cheek, making sure it was healed properly.   
  
Rona saw the anxiety in her and knew that even if she was a master of her yoki, Stephanie’s words triggered something ferocious in her that wouldn’t have stopped unless one of them died. “Stella, I think it might be best if you two spend some time apart. If this happens again and i’m not here-”    
  
“It won’t! I-It won’t happen again.” Stella was quick to sputter, but then took a breath and looked away, “Maybe you’re right. But who would look after her? It’s the whole reason we were paired in the first place.”    
  
Rona looked over to Stephanie who had sat down to settle her nerves. “Well, she can come with me. For a little while anyway. You two need some time apart, and you’re more than capable of handling things on your own. We’ll head back to my hometown and I’ll see if anyone there might have an idea of what to do about that festering wound.”   
  
“The incision or her attitude?” Stella smirked a bit, trying to lighten the mood. “Are you sure you’re ok with this? I don’t want to come back and find out that she ruined your relationship.”   
  
“It will be fine, if for any reason you need to get her, you know where we’ll be.” Rona was quickly pulled into a hug, drowning in Stella’s chest, flailing her arms as she attempted escape to breathe.   
  
“Oh you are a life saver Rona, I’m so glad we found you!” She held the smaller warrior tight, obviously elated at her new independence. “We can meet back here when you’re finished, I’ll try and complete my mission quickly.”   
  
Rona pried herself out of the embrace, hair a mess like she just crawled out of bed. “Your elation is making me nervous.” She ran her hands through her hair, coaxing it to flow all one way. “I’m sure this was quite a wake up call for her, so hopefully she won’t act out too much.”   
  
“Let’s hope so. I’m going to pack up my things and head out then, I can sleep elsewhere; it’s best if I get away from her for now.” Stella turned towards the cave but looked back at Rona. “You’re  _ sure _ about this?”   
  
“Honestly, no; but you did save my life and I at least owe you this much.” Rona shrugged, trying to not focus too much on her own fragile mortality. “Besides, you said yourself she’s not so bad once you get to know her.”   
  
“Yeah but you also saw me just about to kill her.” Stella groaned through a bit lip, rubbing her neck.   
  
Rona shrugged, “So she’s abrasive, that’s not any fault of your own for getting sick of it. I just think that she joined a lot younger than us; she may be strong, and look like us, but mentally she’s just a scared teen, hurt from the organization for taking advantage of her naivety, stealing her childhood and her family away from her. Not only is she permanently scarred like the rest of us, but hers is a festering wound that won’t let her rest. She wants a friend, but she ends up pushing everyone away. I’m not trying to make excuses for her behavior, but I understand why she lashes out.”   
  
Stella blinked owlishly, “I… guess I’m so used to seeing her as my superior, I forget that she’s younger than me.” She crossed her arms and tapped her foot in a slow rhythm. “I should go apologize.”   
  
“You two can make up later, just go and clear your head.” Stella gave her a quick pat on the shoulder and Rona watched her walk back to the cave, her head bowed in quiet contemplation. 

 

Rona walked over to Stephanie and crouched down to her level, the number one sat on the ground with her legs pulled close to her chest, long silver hair draped around her like a full body veil.   
  
“She hates me now, doesn’t she?” A mumble sounded from under the silver strands.   
  
“No, she doesn’t hate you, but she’s is going to take a little time away. You’re going to come with me. We’re going to go to Aalberad and she’s going to finish the mission; when she comes back you two can make up. This will give you some time to think of what you want to say. But I need you to be on your best behavior, because my fiancee will not put up with your sass, warrior or no.” She smirked, her tone light and playful.   
  
An eye peered out from a part in the hair as Stephanie raised her head, “What is she going to do, hit me with a wooden spoon?”    
  
Rona chuckled, “I wish she were that nice.” She stood up and offered Stephanie a hand, hoisting her to her feet. “Let’s get some rest, we can head out in a few hours.” Stephanie didn’t respond to that, but quietly followed Rona back to the cave. Stella had already left, quietly stealing away into the night without another word to the two of them.

 

A little stoking of the fire and the cave warmed right up; Rona started getting comfortable, laying on her side with her head resting on her bicep. She noted that after the surgery, she was losing muscle mass at an alarming rate despite the fact she was getting stronger; that would explain why all the warriors looked so frail. It certainly wasn’t as comfortable to sleep on, that was for sure, but she slept on her side since she was small, she certainly wasn’t going to stop now. She closed her eyes and relaxed, focusing on the ebb and flow of her yoki, matching it in time with her breathing, and slowly drifted off to sleep, praying that her luck tomorrow would be better.


End file.
